Top 10 Highest Paying Tech Companies
Looking to work for a tech company that offers a lucrative salary? Here's a cheat sheet based on Glassdoor's list of the highest paying US tech companies in 2016.
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Six-figure salaries are the norm when it comes to the top 10 tech companies that offer the highest pay in 2016, according to a recent survey from jobs and recruiting site Glassdoor.
The median base pay at these tech companies ranged from $123,331 to as much as $140,000, according to Glassdoor. But when bonuses and other forms of compensation are factored into the mix, the median total compensation ranged from $149,000 to $157,000.
"In technology, we continue to see unprecedented salaries as the war for talent is still very active, largely due to the ongoing shortage of highly skilled workers needed," said Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor chief economist, in a statement.
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At tech companies, the majority of high salaries tend to be found in deep tech roles, such as product manager, software engineer, and other deep tech roles, Glassdoor noted.
Among the top 10 tech companies that shell out the highest median salaries there are some surprises, Jessica Jaffe, a Glassdoor community expert, told InformationWeek.
"While big names such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook are no surprise on this list, it's always interesting to see which lesser known companies can stack up. Companies like Cadence Design Systems and VMware may not be the first ones that spring to mind when researching the highest paying companies. However, these companies are in a competitive industry (tech) where a high salary is an essential recruiting and retention tool."
The list of tech companies is part of Glassdoor's larger survey of the 25 companies from all industries that pay the highest salaries. Of this larger pool, 19 companies are in the San Francisco and New York areas, which may, in part, explain the need for higher salaries given the cost of living in those markets, Jaffe noted.
Over the past few years, starting salaries and total compensation for tech talent has mostly been trending upward, John Reed, senior executive director for recruiting firm Robert Half Technology told InformationWeek in an interview.
"Hiring managers are changing their recruiting strategies," Reed said. "They're willing to offer sign-on bonuses, annual bonuses and other perks in order to attract and retain top talent for their organizations."
The average starting salaries across all roles and industries are $94,000 to $138,320, according to the 2016 Robert Half Technology Salary Guide.
Industries paying top dollar for their tech teams right now include the technology, financial, and healthcare sectors. "Those with the technical and specific industry experience have the potential to see higher than average salaries and benefits," Reed said.
The Glassdoor figures were culled from salary reports submitted by current and former employees of US-based companies, and provided voluntarily and anonymously. These entries included base pay and other forms of compensation such as bonuses, tips, commissions and other forms of compensation that Glassdoor users posted to the site between March 30, 2015, and March 29, 2016.
Take a look at these top 10 tech companies, their median total compensation, and median base pay. Specific occupations and the average annual salary are included for each of the 10 tech companies, based on the salary posts to the Glassdoor site as of this publishing. (The averages fluctuate as additional employees post their salary to the site.) Tell us how your company stacks up.
Median Total Compensation: $149,000
Median Base Salary: $126,000
When it comes to engineering jobs, a typical Walmart.com ecommerce senior software engineer earns a salary range between $94,760 to $150,000 for this position, according to Glassdoor.
As for average IT salaries at the company, a senior software engineer earns $128,718, a software engineer III $113,463, a staff software engineer $150,600 and a senior project manager $144,164, according to Glassdoor.
Median Total Compensation: $150,000
Median Base Salary: $130,000
Box was one of the top tech IPOs in 2015. It raised $175 million.
Flush with cash after its IPO last year, it may not be surprising the company can afford IT salaries on the higher end of the bar. Additionally, the company's full-year revenue grew 40% to $303 million over the previous year, according to a TechCrunch report.
Meanwhile, the average annual salary for a software engineer at Box is $129,299 and a hefty $159,307 for a senior software engineer, according to Box employee data posted to Glassdoor.
Median Total Compensation: $150,000
Median Base Salary: $133,000
For engineering positions at Twitter, Glassdoor notes that the average salary for a software engineer is $127,442, a senior engineer $154,756, software engineer I $114,694 and software engineer II is $130,641.
Although Twitter is listed as one of the highest-paying tech companies, the micro-blogging social media site is struggling to post strong user growth. It has also lost a handful of executives, including the head of its engineering, according to a Wired report. Twitter watchers and investors question whether the company will be able to find a way to driver higher user growth.
Median Total Compensation: $150,000
Median Base Salary: $127,406
Production engineers earn an annual average salary of $135,209 at Facebook, while data scientists bring in $133,492 and software engineers $125,302, according to Facebook employee survey data posted on Glassdoor.
Facebook is not only listed among the tech companies that pay the highest salaries, but it has also garnered a reputation for being one of the best companies to work for according to Glassdoor.
Facebook was recognized by its current and former employees for its lavish perks from on-site bicycle repairs to massages, as well as its transparent management team. One Facebook product specialist noted on the Glassdoor site that Facebook's culture is "amazing."
Median Total Compensation: $150,010
Median Base Salary: $140,000
Bill Roche, vice president of HR operations at Cadence, told InformationWeek that 90% of the company's employees are engineers who are developing, selling, and supporting highly advanced and complex software applications that enable its customers to design chips for phones, computers, cars, appliances, and other devices. "Most of the self-reported salaries on Glassdoor reflect compensation for our engineering employees, a large number of whom have master's degrees and PhDs," Roche said.
While Cadence Design has a hefty six-figure median total compensation, the average salary it pays software architects is even higher, according to Glassdoor. Software architects earn an average of $178,748, based on over a dozen employee salaries submitted by Cadence employees.
Some IT positions at Cadence average less than its median salary, such as lead sales applications engineers earn an average of $118,773, while product engineers make an average of $102,895, according to Glassdoor employee survey data.
Median Total Compensation: $150,020
Median Base Salary: $135,000
Guidewire, like Facebook, was also listed on a Glassdoor survey as one of the best tech companies to work for.
The company, which makes software for the insurance industry, was touted by current and former employees for its work-life balance culture and the "flat hierarchy" throughout the company. One Guidewire employee was quoted on the Glassdoor site as saying the company has hit a sweet spot between a "startup culture" and a "big corporate culture."
A senior software engineer at Guidewire earns an average annual salary of $144,228, while a software engineer brings in an average of $116,716, and a QA Engineer $111,559, according to Glassdoor survey data.
Median Total Compensation: $150,100
Median Base Salary: $138,700
Amazon Lab126 is the research and development arm of retailing giant Amazon.com. The lab is responsible for developing hardware devices from Amazon's Echo to its Fire tablets.
Not only does Amazon Lab126 have a high median base and overall salary, but it also has a number of IT jobs available from firmware engineer, to wireless system test engineer, to software engineer.
A software development engineer II at Amazon Lab126 earns an average annual salary of $131,357, while software developer engineers make an average of $108,621, according to Glassdoor data.
Median Total Compensation: $152,133
Median Base Salary: $130,000
VMware staff engineers earn an average annual salary of $155,730, while a senior member of its technical staff makes $134,534, and a QA engineer $98,209, according to data supplied by VMware employees to Glassdoor.
Although VMware offers a high salary, it also comes with the downside of potential layoffs. The company got a jump start on layoffs at the start of the year, when it announced plans to eliminate 800 positions during the first half of the year and apply the savings toward its field, technical, and support resources that are tied to its growth products.
VMware over the first half of the year will also be paring down its workforce as its majority investor, storage maker EMC, prepares to be acquired by Dell in a massive merger valued at approximately $60 billion. That deal is expected to close in the August to October time frame, a Dell spokesman previously told InformationWeek.
Median Total Compensation: $153,750
Median Base Salary: $123,331
Google, in addition to making the list of tech companies that pay the highest salaries, was included on Glassdoor's list of best tech companies to work for.
Median Total Compensation: $157,000
Median Base Salary: $135,000
Juniper Networks offers an average salary of $146,699 for staff engineers, $111,031 for technical support engineers, and $124,397 for senior engineers, according to Glassdoor's employee-supplied data.
Although the company has the highest ranking among tech companies when it comes to doling out high salaries, according to the Glassdoor rankings, the networking company took a hit late last month when it warned it would generate less first-quarter revenue than it earlier anticipated, according to a Motley Fool report.
Juniper Networks also hinted at potential layoffs in its quarterly report, noting it would take "conservative and prudent approach to managing our business," according to its first-quarter earnings release.
"While our results for the March quarter were disappointing, we remain constructive on the full year and encouraged by early customer feedback on our recently introduced new products, Rami Rahim, Juniper Networks CEO, said in a statement.
Median Total Compensation: $157,000
Median Base Salary: $135,000
Juniper Networks offers an average salary of $146,699 for staff engineers, $111,031 for technical support engineers, and $124,397 for senior engineers, according to Glassdoor's employee-supplied data.
Although the company has the highest ranking among tech companies when it comes to doling out high salaries, according to the Glassdoor rankings, the networking company took a hit late last month when it warned it would generate less first-quarter revenue than it earlier anticipated, according to a Motley Fool report.
Juniper Networks also hinted at potential layoffs in its quarterly report, noting it would take "conservative and prudent approach to managing our business," according to its first-quarter earnings release.
"While our results for the March quarter were disappointing, we remain constructive on the full year and encouraged by early customer feedback on our recently introduced new products, Rami Rahim, Juniper Networks CEO, said in a statement.
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